Link groped along the stone wall in the dark for a switch but it eluded his touch. It had been three days now that Midna had gone back to the twilight, and in the dark, he felt lost without her. He couldn't sleep anymore. Reaching farther than he could, Link stumbled off his bed and fell to the cold stone floor of Hyrule castle.
"Ouch," he groaned rubbing his head.
"Is everything okay?" came a worried voice from the shadows. The lights came on and there sat the Princess on the edge of the bed. She was wearing a purple nightgown with gold designs embellishing the torso, a true representation of the royal family. "You're still thinking about her aren't you?"
"Yeah…" replied Link hesitantly as he sat up. He felt bad for Zelda. He couldn't love her as fully as he should and as she deserved with the still fresh memories of Midna lingering in his mind. There was an empty void in Link's heart. He missed that little imp, his companion. She was his light in the darkness, but now he's left wandering the twilight without her. Thankfully for Link, he had a brighter light guiding his way now, Zelda.
"You'll see her again I'm sure," Zelda reassured. She helped Link off of the floor and back onto the bed. The bed was warm, soft, and comforting after taking a tumble onto cold stone.
"Thanks," he said with a sweet smile. "I wish I could forget her. I wish I could forget her and just think about you. You know I love you, Zelda. I just... It's just after everything I've gone through it's hard to forget her…"
Zelda kissed his cheek. "I know, Link. It's never easy to say goodbye, but in the end we have to. If we didn't, then how would we ever meet them again? If you're never apart then you can't experience that feeling you get when you meet someone again after a long time. That's the best part about goodbye, you get to say hello again." She rested her head gently on his shoulder.
"You're right. Goodbye isn't the end, it's a beginning," Link kissed the top of Zelda's head softly. "After meeting you again, it's definitely a new beginning, a wonderful beginning." Link smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist then rested his head on top of hers. "Just promise me we won't have to say goodbye again."
"I promise," Zelda giggled as she turned to kiss him. "Link, I ha-"
Her words were cut off by a sudden banging at the door.
"Zelda! Link! Are you two in there?" yelled a deep voice from the other side of the large, wooden door. "The city is under attack!" Link rushed to the window to see it for himself, and sure enough, he could see the flames that were spreading across Castle Town. Zelda soon joined him to see what was going on.
"How could this be? I thought we finished Ganondorf?" Zelda gasped in horror at the sight. Link stared at the town in dismay, clenching his fists. How could something like this happen? He destroyed Ganondorf just a few days ago and yet, sure enough, things were already going haywire again.
"Link, you've got to do something!" ordered the king that now stood behind them at the window. "You're our only hope. Too many of our knights have fallen already. We need someone with your level of courage to take a stand. Go, Hero of Twilight. Save Hyrule, once again, from the evil forces that seek to take it from us. Do so and the kingdom will forever be in your debt." Link nodded determined to make things right again. He looked at Zelda.
"I will, Your Majesty," Link looked back at the king. "For the sake of Hyrule." In a split second, Link snatched his sword from its resting place, flung it onto his back, and dashed out the door towards the town square.
Link exited the castle and sprinted down the flight of stairs to Castle Town where the growing flames engulfed everything in their path. The townspeople frantically ran around screaming from the Bokoblins that had infiltrated the castle walls. The air hurt to breathe as the scent of smoke and burning flesh penetrated Link's nostrils. The smoke stung his eyes and left him struggling to find his way through the burning city. A Bokoblin came running up to Link with his rugged, wooden sword raised to attack. Link drew his sword from his sheath and countered the Bokoblin's attack before returning the blow and putting down his enemy into an eternal rest. He returned his sword to its sheath and paused to look around for the commander of this onslaught in the middle of the night. Link saw a larger figure start to emerge from the smoke at the entrance and continued his trek through the rubble, fire, and smoke towards it.
A group of Bokoblins ran towards Link, swords raised to attack. He clutched his shield and deflected their attacks before putting them out of their misery with his Master Sword in a single blow. Link heard a noise from behind him and spun around to meet his aggressor. Towering over him was a Darknut, armor as thick as a dragon's hide and a sword stronger than steel. Darknuts had always been a formidable enemy to Link. They were tough, but given the right strategy, they could be defeated.
Link faced his foe, swords drawn and shields raised waiting for someone to make the first move. Link stared into the darkness of this knight's helmet, looking for an indication of an attack. He saw the Darknut's muscles tense and his enemy raised his sword to attack but Link quickly rolled out of the way and moved around to the Darknuts backside where his weak spot was exposed. He attacked with an uppercut, cutting off the Darknut's chestplate before it fell to the ground. The Darknut looked around confused before turning to face Link. The enemy raised his sword again but Link countered with a parry and then slashed at his foe's now exposed body, killing him.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" came a voice to the left of Link. "You just never give up do you?" Link turned to see the speaker and saw a face he remembered well, Zant. He destroyed him a while ago, so how is it he now stood before him?
"Zant…" growled Link. Zant chuckled.
"Surprised to see me, I assume? You thought you finished me, didn't you?" Zant chuckled again and started pacing circles around Link slowly. "I will never die. You cannot kill me. I am immortal, unlike you. You are mortal, one false move and you could end up like my master, dead, and I will make sure that you do. The war you thought you've won is only just beginning. I have reawakened with a raging fire ignited in the depths in my soul. In the end, no matter what happens to me or my armies, I will defeat you, Hero of Twilight. I will not falter."
"I've defeated you once, Zant, and I will gladly destroy you again. Don't forget how easily you fell at my blade the last time." Link scowled as he drew his sword.
"Don't get too cocky just yet, boy. You've no idea what new tricks I have up my sleeve. But, sadly, now's not the time and place for your demise. So put your iron toothpick away, you will not need it." Zant stopped his pacing and faced Link. "From this day forth, my forces will remain relentless in the quest to destroy every last remnant of you and the royal family. Mark my words, boy. You will not survive to see the end of your precious Hyrule." Zant laughed evilly before disappearing out of sight into the cover of night.
Link thrust his sword into the ground and fell to his knees in a fit of anger. He screamed to the stars, cursing them for his lousy luck and the grim turn of events. It began raining as Zant's forces withdrew from Castle Town putting the rampaging fires to rest. Link could hear his name being called from a distance in the direction of the castle. He looked up with his hair dripping wet towards the voices. Link saw Zelda and the king running towards him through the muddy, bloodstained streets.
"Link, are you okay?" asked Zelda as she kneeled next to him, tightly hugging him.
"I'm fine," Link reassured her as he wrapped his arms around her, "but the kingdom of Hyrule is not. Zant is back, and he and his forces have grown stronger," Link informed them. "You're not safe anymore, Princess, Your Highness. The royal family is threatened again as am I. You must protect yourself!" Zelda and the king both grimaced at the news.
"It cannot be," grumbled the king. "To think that this was done with just earlier today only to start back up again.."
"You must do something, father! Link cannot succeed without your guidance," Zelda implored to the king. "We must put an end to this!" The king nodded in agreement.
"We shall make haste then. Link, inform the guard they are to prepare for war, maybe the last war they will ever face. Go quickly before we are under fire again. We cannot let time go to waste. Every second we are given we must make use of." Link nodded.
"Be careful, Link…" Zelda cooed. Link kissed her forehead.
"Always, Princess," he smiled putting a hand on her shoulder. There was a faint noise behind them. They slowly turned around expecting another minion of Zant but instead they saw a figure start to form in front of them from shards of darkness. As the figure became more defined, Link's eyes widened and he gasped.
A familiar chuckle came from the shadowy being.
"I told you I'd see you later."